Yogendra Sharma obtained BSc in 1978, and MSc in\r\nPhysical Chemistry (1980) from Meerut University. He joined Saha Institute of\r\nNuclear Physics, Kolkata for Post-MSc Associateship Diploma (1980-81). He\r\nworked as a Research Fellow (1981-1988) in the Saha Institute of Nuclear\r\nPhysics, Kolkata, and was awarded Ph.D. (1991) in Chemistry (degree awarded by\r\nCalcutta University). He joined CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology\r\n(CCMB) Hyderabad as scientist in 1988, where he worked throughout his academic\r\ncareer and superannuated as Chief Scientist (Deputy Director) and Group Leader\r\ntill 2019. He has also worked as visiting associate at the Washington\r\nUniversity School of Medicine, St Louis from 1995-98 on eye development. He was\r\nlater awarded J C Bose National Fellowship. He is currently the Professor of\r\nBiological Sciences and Dean in the newly established Indian Institute of\r\nScience Education and Research (IISER) Berhampur.

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Academic and Research Achievements: Yogendra Sharma\r\nis a leading expert on calcium-binding proteins. Although his contribution in\r\nthe field of neuronal calcium sensor mediated regulation cannot be undermined,\r\nhis major scientific contribution is much broader where decades of his research\r\ndiscovered and established a novel family of calcium-binding proteins that is,\r\nthe βγ-crystallin superfamily. The βγ-crystallins now represent the\r\nsecond-largest Ca2+-binding protein family after the EF-hand family (e.g.,\r\ncalmodulin). Reflecting his contribution, over four hundreds of proteins of the\r\nbetagamma-crystallin superfamily are now annotated and assigned to the genre of\r\nthe “calcium-binding proteins”, thus highlighting the importance of the\r\ndiscovery of the Ca2+-binding motif, named as βγ-crystallin motif, identified\r\nby him and his co-workers in a series of publications. Most of these proteins\r\nare found in bacterial species, hence there is likely involvement of these\r\nproteins in pathophysiology via calcium-sensing.

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Awards and Honours: Professor Sharma is a recipient\r\nof the CSIR Young Scientist Award (1992), M. Sreenivasaya Memorial Award from the\r\nSociety of Biological Chemists (India), 2008. He is a Fellow of all the three\r\nNational Academies (the National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad, Indian\r\nAcademy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy), and a fellow of Andhra\r\nPradesh Akademi of Sciences. He is a Founder Fellow of Telangana Academy of\r\nSciences. He is also awarded the DST-SERB National J C Bose Fellowship (2019).